Blank page FEZANA JOURNAL SPRING

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2 Hamazor hamā-zor bād vehāne haftkeshvar zamīn emān avā eshān, eshān avā emān, hamā-zor ham-baher, ham-yāred May we all be in co-operation with the righteous men of all the seven regions (i.e., the whole world)... May we be one with them and may they be one with us. May we all benefit one another, and help one another. [Āfrin-ī-Gāhambār 3] Hama Zor united in spiritual energy. (Hamā = together ; Zor, Av. Zavare, zāvare = strength, vigour, as in yasnemcha, vahmemcha, aojascha, zavarecha. Zor means much more than just strength : First level (Personal): Synergy with fellow men. For that, it is essential to have understanding and tolerance. Second level (Cosmic): Connected with a matrix with all creations. Hence Hamazor with mountains, plants, rivers and other creations. Third level (Celestial): We belong to a field which is connected with spiritual entities: God, yazads spiritual entities presiding over time, Gatha, gahambar etc. Fraspayokhedhram progress is possible only with unity. hamāzor bād, hamāzor hamā asho bād, hamāzor hamā nekih bād, hamāzor hamā khoreh bād, hamāzor vesh kerfeh bād, hamāzor kam gunāh bād, hamāzor zarthoshti din rāstihā bokhtār bād, dine māzdayasnān hakikat dorost bād. May we be united in strength. May we be united in strength with all righteous people. May we be united in strength with all goodness. May we be united in strength with all divine energies. May we be united in strength with many meritorious deeds. May we be united in strength with the least sins. May we be united in strength with the Mazdayasni religion which gives redemption through righteousness. May all the teachings of the Mazdayasni religion be properly preserved. [Afrin ī Ardafravash, 1] Hamazor is a beautiful concept, but very difficult to put into practice because of our individual egos. In order to achieve unity we need obedience to a person, community, idea, message or a cause; and for obedience to set in, we have to control our sense of right (our ego) and give importance to the sense of right of others. The Hamazor handshake. Among our ancestors, and even in times not long ago, the word Hamazor indicated a special handshake. It is an ancient tradition to express Hamazor with each other on any festive occasion, like New Year s Day. Today, priests exchange it among themselves during rituals, and with others after the ritual. [Presentation by Er. Dr. Ramiyar Karanjia, Principal, Athornan Madressa, at the Coming Together Roundtable] 2 coming together in hamazori Zarathushtis from India, Iran and the diaspora, gathered at the one-day Coming Together Roundtable in Mumbai for discourse and dialog on projects and issues of import to the global Zarathushti community. F ollowing up on the first Coming Together Roundtable held at the World Congress in London in June 2005 [see FEZANA Journal, Fall 2005], and availing of the opportunity when a number of Zarathushtis from the diaspora would be in Mumbai for the preceding WZCC meet, Rohinton Rivetna, Founding President of FEZANA and WZCC, convened this second Roundtable, at the Mancherji Joshi Hall of the Athornan Madressa in Dadar, Mumbai, on January 8, All participants of the previous Roundtable and any other interested Zarathushtis were invited. Ervad Dr. Ramiyar Karanjia, principal of the Athornan Madressa, set the tone of the meeting with a beautiful talk on the traditional concept of Hamazor [at left]. After a round of self-introductions by the sixty or more participants, from India, Pakistan, Iran, USA, Canada, Australia, UK and Singapore, Rohinton Rivetna [left] stressed the urgency for our global Community Without Borders to come together and work together on global challenges and projects. We must foster connections between

3 Clockwise, from previous page: Nawaz Mody, Homai Modi, Kersi and Coomi Mehta (Mumbai), Soli Dastur (Florida), Sam Billimoria (California); Zareen Araoz (Boston) facilitating the discussion, from left, Adi Engineer (Pune), Kersi Commissariat and Minoo Shroff (Mumbai), Bomy Boyce (Toronto), Jehangir Patel, Veera Patel, Arnavaz Mama and Marzban Giara (Mumbai); Jimmy Mistry (Mumbai), Russi Ghadiali (Singapore) and Ness Lakdawala (Montreal); Firdosh Mehta (Dallas) and Rustom Engineer (Houston). VISION for the community (developed at the London Roundtable, 2005): To nurture a caring, compassionate, harmonious, observant, esteemed and prosperous community MISSION for the community: To come together and work together in hamazori for the Zarathushti and global communities. the diaspora and homeland communities, focussing on social togetherness, harmony and cooperation, with respect for religious diversity. Our actions must be deliberate to strengthen, not fragment, the remarkable bonding we share, and to enhance our social capital. This is an action-oriented, working meeting towards our vision [see above] he said, and proposed a list of twenty-plus discussion items for the day, culled from the long list of projects and challenges, generated at the London meet. Zareen Karani Araoz (ZWIN International network, zwinzisn@yahoogroups.com) made an impassioned plea for the community to harmonize their efforts and stay away from political and religious divisiveness. DISCUSSION POINTS/ACTION ITEMS Supplies and services for overseas Zarathushtis and a web-based Zarathushti directory. Yazdi Tantra (yazdi@on-lyne.com) is developing TheParsiMall.com, with an online payment gateway, to include ordering liturgical items (sudrehs, kushtis, sukhad, ses, diva, prayer books), sending flowers/mithai to loved ones, and financial/accounting/legal services. With Ader Gandi, he has also created ZoroastrianDirectory.com, a worldwide listing of Zarathushtis, TheParsiMatch.com (for matrimonials) and TheParsiChronicle.com (for news). Coordinated welfare programs. Prompted by a suggestion, in absentia, by Porus Dadabhoy of Chicago for overseas Zarathushtis to participate in BPP s 3rd Child Assistance program, Firdosh Mehta explained the procedure for sending donations from overseas for welfare, critical assistance or natural calamities, and tax implications in USA and Canada. Alayar Dabestani addressed aspects of sending donations to Iran. Jimmy Mistry, founder-trustee of the Parsi Resource Group (info@parsiresourcegroup.com) mentioned shortage of funds to sponsor PRG s programs for the Youth, Mobeds and Agiaries, such as children s educational sponsorships, and Mediclaim assistance for Mobeds. He will follow up with Houtoxi Contractor, chair, FEZANA Welfare Committee (HFMC31@aol.com) about Adopt-aChild and Adopt-an-Agiary programs. While some, like Oorvaksh Medora of Ahmedabad and Parsiana s Jehangir Patel, questioned whether excessive doles would really help the community to grow? or Are we creating a class of professional beggars? most agreed on the need for coordinating welfare efforts. BPP chair Minoo Shroff suggested that the welfare trusts review their archaic systems, be accountable, and share a coordinated application review process to avoid duplication. Homai Modi, trustee and Hon. Secry. of the K. R. Cama Oriental Institute (krcamaoi@vsnl.com), offered to facilitate reviving the Liaison Committee, and ensure that the various trusts support this Committee. Armaity Desai, formerly director of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences, and a member of the PARZOR board 3

4 Clockwise, Perin Cooper (Pakistan), Rusi Gandhi (USA), Sam Kerr (Australia), Oorvaksh Medora (Ahmedabad), Rustom Chami (Mumbai), Khodayar Attaie (Iran); Armaity Desai and Prof. Feredoon Kapadia of Aatash Consultants; Mr. Salamati (Iran), Alayar Dabestani (Seattle) and Yazdi Tantra (Mumbai). presented funding needs for projects undertaken by the PARZOR organization with assistance from UNESCO ( a genetics and fertility research center at Masina Hospital; publication of a children s book on Zoroastrianism by Shernaz Cama; language studies and several other projects. Other projects. Minoo Shroff saw the need for a study on aging and elder issues among Zarathushtis. Mention was made of a Doctors Without Borders network spearheaded by Porus Dadabhoy (porusdad@yahoo.com) and Dr. Mehroo Patel of Chicago. Such a cadre of medical professionals could be an invaluable resource for our Zarathushti and global communities. Behram Pastakia (bpastakia@aol.com), former President of the Zoroastrian Association of Metropolitan Washington, presented follow up on Operation Eyesight, which offers eye care and glasses to the needy; opportunities for a Zarathushti Peace Corps, encouraging individual acts of charity on a world wide basis; supporting a Genealogy Archives project by Dr. Rubina Patel to help Zarathushtis understand our common heritage; and his vision of a safe, efficient, state-of-the-art environment for patient care at Parsi General Hospital. At a subsequent meeting, Hector Mehta, Hon. Secry of PGH, was apprised of these opportunities. Preservation of manuscripts and documents. Dr. Homi Dhalla [left] founder of WZCF, the World Zarathushti Cultural Foundation, urged that precious books and manuscripts at the Maherji Rana Library in Navsari and elsewhere must not only be preserved, but also made readily accessible, and distributed to safeguard against a calamity. He has 4 placed 45 out-of-print books on a CDROM, and offered a collection of 400 old books to any worthy Zarathushti library. Natalie Vania mentioned Google s project to digitize the world s great literary works and make them searchable over the Web. Homai Modi described restoration efforts at the K. R. Cama Oriental Institute. Notable work has also been done for the Navsari manuscripts by Shernaz Cama of PARZOR. At a subsequent meeting, Dasturji Kotwal lamented on the dilapidated condition of the storage building at the Navsari library, and the critical need to rebuild that structure. Russi Ghadialy suggested donating rare and valuable items to museums and libraries to be restored and showcased to the world. Dhalla touched upon other WCZF projects: excavations in Sanjan and an archeological museum for the excavated artifacts; a forthcoming book on Navsari; reviving Gujarati language and monajats; conservation work at Bahrot Caves; a traveling textiles exhibit, which could also evolve into an opportunity for sales/export. Mention was made of the Persepolis tablets excavated at the Oriental Institute, that are currently under contention with the Iranian government. Shirin Mistry requested help in collecting artifacts for a Zarathushti Expo at the World Youth Congress. Participation in Interfaith and UN programs. Behram Pastakia [left] urged organizations to seek UNNGO status, as FEZANA has, and participate in their numerous humanitarian and peace programs, and offered help in that process. Zarathushtis in the diaspora are very active in Interfaith work and in humanitarian projects such as Habitat for Humanity. He suggested

5 developing a traveling Zarathushti exhibit that could be loaned for events around the world, e.g. at UN Headquarters in New York. Homi Dhalla is working on this exhibit, through WZCF. Behram is also working on placing the Zarathushti logo in the UN chapel. Maneck Bhujwala (maneck_bhujwala@mindspring.com) made a plea, in absentia, for Zarathushtis to take the lead in forming Interfaith organizations in India, and organizing events with government and industry leaders. An All-India Interfaith gathering was suggested, on the model of the Parliament of World s Religions. Public Relations. Bomi Boyce and Sam Billimoria pointed out the need to give a coordinated response to misinformation in the press, on the internet, and in books. A FEZANA Committee has been formed to address this need. Numerous efforts are underway to bring awareness at the international level, e.g. UNESCO has been approached to commemorate Nouruz as a world heritage day. Selection of World Congress Venue. Firdosh Mehta, Behram Pastakia and Rohinton Rivetna will establish a formal process for allocating world congresses, to be effective for Congresses after the 2009 Congress in Dubai, and the 2007 Youth Congress in Melbourne. World Zoroastrian Council. Alayar Dabestani reported that a World Zoroastrian Council has been established in Paris, with a donation of 2 million Euros from Dr. and Mrs. Sassanfar, that will cater to the purported large numbers who wish to claim Zarathushti heritage; and suggested forming a Think Tank to address this development. When we open our doors indiscriminately, when we stop using our Parsi-Irani identity, we are asking for trouble, said Khojeste Mistree, This should be a lesson to all of us, especially in America. Alayar also pointed out the need to form an Iranian Ad- Hoc Committee to aid Zarathushtis in the event of a political emergency in Iran. Alayar mentioned that work is in progress by Homer Abramian of Australia to place Cyrus the Great monuments in a hundred locations around the world, including India. There was some sentiment that it might be more impacting to put replicas of the Cyrus cylinder which has been generally acknowledged as the world s first Bill of Human Rights. Proposal for a World Zoroastrian General Assembly. Kayzad Namdarian of Australia submitted a proposal in absentia: United Towards Frashokereti, for a World Zoroastrian General Assembly (WZGA) to serve as an evolutionary step forward from the Coming Shirin and Jimmy Mistry (Melbourne), Nauzer Kasad (Surat) and Khojeste Mistree (Mumbai). Together Roundtable. The proposal is to create an open structure forum of Zoroastrian entities around the world for the following objective: To ensure that Zarathushtra s message survives future millennia, by solving common problems for Zoroastrians, across the world, in a non-binding, voluntary way. WZGA is conceived to be simply a formalized gathering forum and not a bodyof-bodies. It is completely non-binding, and serves to address common issues in a professional, formal way through dialogue, action and results. For the full proposal, contact kayzadnamdarian@ hotmail.com. Network of Anjumans in Mumbai. Marzban Giara and Jimmy Jesia indicated interest in facilitating the formation of a network of local mandals in Mumbai, to facilitate communication and dialogue. Passing the Torch to the Next Generation. Chair of the Indian Federation of Zoroastrian Youth (FOZYA), Nauzer Kasad, painted a bleak picture: Youth is frustrated by all that is happening they are ready to give up, they are drifting away. No trustee, no organization is interested in helping he said, We have to literally go around begging. Jimmy Mistry mentioned PRG s Youth Empowerment (YES) and Making a Difference (MAD) programs have been successful in attracting the youth. Freyaz Shroff mentioned ZYNA s (Zoroastrian Youth of North America) efforts to compile a world youth directory and an online youth network, zspeakerbox, and its active participation in projects at the local community and national level. Minoo Bhujwalla of New Orleans has submitted a proposal, in absentia, for a Save the Zarathushti Youth program and youth camp with a team of psychiatrists and statisticians, and would like to discuss this further with any interested persons. Shirin Mistry (shirinjmistry@yahoo.com.au) mentioned the Friends Forever program at the World Youth Congress in Melbourne in 2007, and hoped that a legacy of that event would be closer bonding between Zarathushti youth. Next Steps. The day was short, and many important items, such as concerns about interfaith marriages and demography, could not be covered. From the level of interest, though, and the breadth of topics covered, it was evident that this was an effective forum. Notes, with action items and ownership will be sent to all participants and other interested persons. Contact rivetna@aol.com for a copy. This will be a living document, to be updated until the next opportunity for a Roundtable. - by Roshan Rivetna 5